TLS to improve this project, which is at its 30th year
running. During Sports Spectra this year, there were
more than 500 participants. Such a reception in terms
of the number of participants from the Tamil speaking
community was a first in the history of NUS TLS. One
would be able to continue to list the successes of NUS
TLS and it would not be wrong to say that the strong
passion for Tamil amongst the Indian community has
led to the culmination of many successful projects from
NUS TLS.
To understand the formation of NUS TLS, one
has to go back in date to the 1960s. In that era, language
nationalism was infused together with the aspirations
of independence. Many were craving for an identity for
their language and the Tamils were not excluded from
this. Unfortunately, there was no understanding between the various ethno-linguistic groups within the
Indian community which resulted in a divided community. This posed a massive challenge to ensure that the
Tamil language excelled in the community. Having understood this complex situation and wanting the Tamil
language to continue thriving in Singapore, the Tamil
students studied very hard and managed to get a place
this seminar was former President and then National
Trade Union Congress (NTUC)’s General Secretary
Mr C.V. Devan Nair. Along with him, Member of Parliament, Mr P. Govindasamy from Anson Road Single
Member Consistuency also graced the occasion. At that
time, no one knew that this seminar would spark a great
change and create a major impact in the Indian society.
The first seminar proved to be a turning point
in Mr C.V. Devan Nair’s life as he started to have an
increased focus on the problems that the Indian community was facing. Most importantly, he worked very
hard for the growth of the Tamil Language from 1978
till 1982. Mr P. Govindasamy worked very hard to ensure unity amongst the Indian community and restructured the Tamils Representative Council (TRC) until his
demise in 1978. As such, NUS TLS started organising
seminars every year to ensure that the language grows
and also to portray the problems that the Tamil speaking community was facing. With that, a magazine by the
name of “Tamil Peravai” was published and its impact
was widely seen in the society. The members of Tamil
Language Society started joining various Tamil organisations upon graduation to render their service to the
in the University of Singapore. Some of them came together and formed the Tamil Language Society in 1975.
Due to the efforts of these students, Tamil Language
Society became a registered society within 4 years. At
that point of time, Tamil Language Society had two objectives. The first was to start an Indian or Tamil studies department within the University. Next, they wanted
to ensure that Tamil reaches a highly reputable status in
the Singapore society and among the educational institutions.
Wanting to achieve these two aims, Tamil Language Society decided to conduct seminars. The very
first seminar organised by the society was titled, ‘Tamil
Language and Tamil Literature’. The keynote speaker for
language and the society.
In the early years of 1980s, all the Indian politicians in Singapore were part of the seminars organised
by Tamil Language Society. Looking forward, many
years later, the 35th Executive Committee of NUS TLS
has transformed the seminar, taking into consideration
the societal changes. This has resulted in the inception
of the Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2014 (STYC
2014).
சிங்கப்பூர்த் தேசிய பல்கலைக்கழகத் தமிழ்ப் பேரவை
35ம் செயற்குழு
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